CDC backs African agri through PE funds

The UK’s development finance institution CDC has made two new African fund investments. It has committed €25 million to AfricInvest Fund III, a pan-African generalist PE fund, and $15 million to Lagos-based Synergy Private Equity Fund, a small to mid-cap fund based in Lagos and Accra.

Both funds make investments in value-adding agribusinesses including agro-processing and consumer goods such as dairy products and fruit juices.

Synergy has allocated 30 percent of its portfolio to agro-processing; the $75 million fund wants to target Nigerian and Ghanaian companies with growth potential at a regional or continental level. It is the first fund for Synergy Managers.

AfricInvest Fund III, currently on $195 million of a $253 million target, has five agribusiness investments in its portfolio. AfricInvest’s previous funds have invested in more than 10 agribusinesses in its 20 year history. The firm has the capability to invest across the continent, owing to its presence in East, North and West Africa.